Birds of a Feather
by Meg F
Summary: Xander and Buffy discover Giles has a secret.


Birds of a Feather  
  
"See if you can find _Preternatural Legends_ while I get the tea, please."  
  
"What's that one look like?"  
  
Giles leaned over the counter and raised an eyebrow. "It's a book. It has _Preternatural Legends_ on the spine."  
  
Buffy cocked her head to one side, appraising him. "I wonder how it'd look stuffed up-"  
  
"Oh, all right!" he hastily interrupted her. He pointed at the bookshelf. "It's a large, red book, on the lower shelf."  
  
"Thank you," she grinned evilly and knelt next to the bookcase, running her finger along the spines.   
  
"I do so enjoy these little social visits, Giles," Xander said in his bad English accent. He stretched theatrically and put his feet on the coffee table.   
  
"Explain to me again why you're here?"  
  
"Someone had to drive No-Car Buffy. And you know you'd miss me if I wasn't around." He cracked his gum noisily.  
  
"I've never had a chance to find out," Giles said with affectionate exasperation. He placed the tray on the coffee table, deftly removed Xander's feet with an elbow, and turned to Buffy. "You can't find it?"  
  
"Ow!" Buffy jumped up, holding her finger. "That one bit me!"  
  
Giles paled. "Which one?"  
  
"The green one."  
  
"The green...one..." Giles bolted for the bookcase, landing in a heap beside it. He grabbed the book, waving it frantically. "This one?"  
  
Buffy frowned in concern. "Yeah."  
  
"You shouldn't even be able to see... oh no. Oh - once again - dear."  
  
Xander was on his feet. "Uh, Giles?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"How come your apartment's bigger than it used to be?" He pointed at the extra room at the end of the corridor.   
  
"Gahhhh!" Giles leapt up, and ran to the calendar. "Oh, no, it's come already - oh bloody, bloody, bloody hell!" He covered his face with his free hand.   
  
Buffy and Xander exchanged looks. Buffy asked, "Giles, what is it?"  
  
He came to a decision, and took a deep breath. "I suppose it's time you knew."  
  
"Yeah. Spill, Giles. Is it more world-endage?"  
  
"No, just the end of my dignity."  
  
Buffy snickered. "I think that vanished with the magician's outfit."  
  
"Thank you ever so much."  
  
"So what happened? And what's in that extra room?" Xander walked straight into Giles' outstretched arm when he tried to get closer.   
  
"Sit down and I'll tell you all about it."  
  
Buffy and Xander sat on the couch. Giles sat, stood, sat again, then jumped up and paced. "That ill-tempered little book has information which could help me. But the concealing magic has run out. Which means it's been five years since the last time, and it's time for me to - oh dear." He muttered something obscene under his breath. "It all started back in England. When I was tangled up with Ethan. I spent a lot of time with a girl who was on the fringes of our group. She didn't get dragged into the Eyghon debacle, thank God."  
  
"I'm flabbergasted, Giles," Xander commented. "You with a girl? My gast is well and truly flabbered."   
  
Giles sighed, and went on. "The group had been experimenting with raising demons. And I was convinced I could handle myself. So, after one lovely evening with Jennifer, I decided to show off."  
  
"You pretended to enjoy a sporting event?" Xander asked. He shrank back when Giles glared at him.  
  
"There was one difficulty. I had a touch of the flu, so my diction was far from impeccable." He stood at the corridor opening, and beckoned the other two. "You might as well see."  
  
Buffy nudged Xander in the ribs excitedly as they followed Giles. She ignored his muttered "Oof!"   
  
Giles opened the door to the mystery room. They looked inside. And down. And started to laugh.   
  
Buffy managed, "So you tried to call up..."  
  
"The foul - dark - power of Illuzal." Giles completed, rubbing his forehead.   
  
The yellow duck with little red horns waddled between them. Giles grabbed it before it could escape. It quacked angrily, and a tiny bolt of lightning crackled out from its beak. There was a faint smell of ozone in the air. Giles yelped. "Ouch!"  
  
"So, uh, what next?" Buffy grinned.   
  
"Next, I have to spend days in spellcasting. And I have to wear a ceremonial hat made of duck feathers. And I have to sacrifice a rooster. But it can be a toy rooster. After so many years in the mortal realm, his eyesight is failing." He patted the duck absently, ignoring its attempt to snap at him. "I won't be around for a while. So you might as well know. I hoped I would have worked out how to banish him by now. This is so inconvenient. It was much easier at school; I was new and I could pretend I was sick, dammit!"  
  
Buffy asked wickedly, "Do you want us to get Willow and Tara to help with the spells?"  
  
"No!" Giles spluttered. "No, please don't tell anyone else. The mortification is sufficient with just the two of you knowing, thank you."  
  
They agreed, and left. There'd be no more Slayer work done that day.   
  
When Buffy and Xander saw Giles the next week, neither of them mentioned his dreadful secret to the rest of the group.   
  
And he refused to comment about the little toy ducks that they'd bought for everyone as an early Easter present.   



End file.
